If we ever get it right,
once in a great while, perhaps,
it's like a gift,
a present
of the present.

Sometimes maybe it's terpsing a tango
in Buenos Aires,
and sometimes just talking
with a friend in a tea shop,
but for then, you know

you are where you belong
and it's a gift for sure.

This poem first appeared in Masquerades and Misdemeanors, Poems of the Hartford Avenue Poets (Pebblebrook Press, 2013).
Used here with the author's permission.

EdWerstein retired from a three-stop career in manufacturing, union activism, and non-profit work in 2014. In 2009, at the age of 60, he claims his muse finally awoke and dragged herself out of bed; he’s been writing ever since. Ed is a regional vice-president of the Wisconsin Fellowship of Poets (wfop.org). His chapbook, Who Are We Then?, was published in 2013 by Partisan Press. Ed lives in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Post New Comment:

Katrina:
I be long grasses and rustling reeds.Posted 04/28/2016 02:40 AM

Dorcas:
Yes, we are where we are meant to be; so make the most of it, no one is cheated. We serve our purpose in some way, as Milton paraphrased "they serve who only stand and wait."Posted 04/27/2016 08:56 AM

Janet Leahy:
It is just 'once in a great while" that this happens, your poem captures that moment so well, thanks Ed/Posted 04/27/2016 08:52 AM

paradea:
Wonderful poem!Posted 04/27/2016 08:13 AM

tiddles:
I love the thought that we are "accidental." Will think about that all day. Good poem, Ed!
Marilyn WindauPosted 04/27/2016 07:40 AM